Chapter One:
Nestled near the outer edges of Pentagram City, lies a small, charming bookstore, seemingly at odds with its hellish surroundings. The store's exterior is a striking sight, with its blackened bricks, ornate wrought iron gate, and flickering, ethereal gas lamps casting an inviting glow on the cracked and broken streets below.
This cozy little store is a treasure trove for the weary and curious, filled with towering shelves of leather-bound volumes, each one radiating a faint, otherworldly energy. The air is thick with the aroma of ancient parchment, singed edges, and a hint of brimstone.
A narrow, creaking staircase leads to a warmly lit apartment on the second floor. The living space, like the bookstore below, is a harmonious marriage of old-world charm and subtle infernal touches. Rich, velvety fabrics drape over the furniture, while an ornate, wrought iron railing winds its way around the balcony, offering a breathtaking view of the bookstore below.
A small, crackling hearth provides both warmth and comfort, while a delicate writing desk sits in the corner, a collection of quills and inkwells at the ready for those rare moments of quiet contemplation.
An ornate, ebony four-poster bed beckons, its black silk sheets whispering promises of sweet, restful slumber. The walls are adorned with twisting, gnarled vines and the occasional, tastefully placed tapestries of beautiful nature scenery.
The small, charming bookstore and its cozy apartment above stand as a testament to the power of knowledge and the allure of the written word, even in the darkest of places. . . . .
And it is in this charming little bookstore, Millie sets out on her morning routine of lightly dusting the shelves and rearranging books back into neat rows. She scurries from one shelf to another, down the narrow aisles, dusting here, stacking there.
Millie mutters to herself, her voice trailing off as she moves from one end of the store to the other, lost in her own thoughts.
' I don't understand how this place can get so dusty. It's just me and the few customers that happen to come in.'
With that chore done, Millie makes her way to the small kitchen in the back of the store to start a pot of coffee. While it's brewing, she gets out the rest of the ingredients she'll need to make her favorite morning drink, a caramel frappuccino.
Sure, there are plenty of coffee snobs that would turn up their nose to such a beverage, but it's one the few things she can still enjoy in Hell dammit!
It was one the few things Millie enjoyed while she was alive too. As she watched the coffee maker, she thought back to her life on Earth.
Her life as a human wasn't much to write home about. A neglectful mother, an absent father, and no real friends to speak of. Well...that wasn't entirely true. She did have one real, true blue friend while she was alive.
Millie's sure her friend will be welcomed into those pearly gates, when it's her time. It's her one real regret honestly; not being about to see her friend again. But it's a regret that Millie has come to terms with. And besides, there's no use lamenting over something you can't change.
Sighing, Millie closed her eyes and willed the thoughts away. " No sense in starting the day off with such gloomy memories", she muttered to herself.
With her drink finished, Millie set the empty cup in the sink to be washed later. Heading up stairs to her little apartment, she entered the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day. She brushed her sharp teeth, one of the many things she had to get used to after arriving in Hell.
Millie ran a brush through her dark brown hair, being careful not to hit her large ears, and gave it a little fluffing. She kept it in a shoulder length bob. No way was she dealing with ridiculously long hair and a tail. She gave herself a final once over, making sure nothing was out of place. She gazed at her reflection a bit longer than she normally would.
Sometimes she couldn't believe the form her hellish body had taken. Cute little pink nose, large light brown ears, and a pink tail.
She was a mouse...Millie the mouse.
"Guess it makes sense. People always said that I was as quiet as a mouse." she sighed, turning from the bathroom mirror. Heading down stairs, she glanced around the store, making sure everything was in order before flipping the 'Closed' sign to 'Open'
As soon as Millie flipped the sign, she was bombarded by a flash of red and yellow. Shaking herself out of the shock of almost being run over by the colorful flash, Millie could finally see that the red and yellow being was none other than Princess Charlotte Morningstar. Recognizing the red suit and blonde hair from the news broadcast, Millie was a little star struck to say the least.
The princess looked frantic, as she crowded you. " PLEASE tell me this is the Burning Pages bookstore?" the princess asked with teary eyes.
" Uh, yeah this is the place. I'm Millie the owner", Millie answered, unsure of what to do or say next.
"Oh, wow, I'm so happy I found my way here! Ohmygod, I can't believe this place exists! I've been looking for a bookstore like this for so long, I've been wandering around aimlessly for- I don't know how long, you know?! I was just heading out on a walk and got lost and then BAM! I see this place and then I came in, and I- oh wow, excuse me, I'm just so...," the princess blushed a bright red in embarrassment.
Um, so! I- I- I'm sorry for being a mess, I'm just so excited to be here. Oh, right, I'm Charlie Morningstar, and I have a hotel. It's a hotel dedicated to helping sinners redeem themselves, and I'm uh- looking to restock the hotel library for them, but I lost all the books when the hotel was destroyed during the fight with Adam and the Exterminators...sooo I was wondering, would you mind helping me out? . . . . Millie was too stunned to speak. This was not how she thought her day would go.